Luka Is Kareem-Like In Mavs OT Win Over Kings

Luka Doncic Is Kareem-Like In Dallas Mavs NBA Bubble OT Win Over Kings

Mike Fisher | Aug 4, 2020

Luka is Sam Perkins and Wilt Chamberlain.

Luka is Dirk Nowitzki and Elgin Baylor.

Luka is almost Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Scoff at the comparisons if you like, but the absurd numbers posted in the Tuesday NBA Bubble matinee by the WonderBoy, Luka Doncic, insists you take them seriously.

Dallas trailed by as many as 11 points late to the Sacramento Kings before Doncic led a flip-the-script barrage to help the Mavs secure their first win in the Orlando bubble, 114-110.

And yes, Doncic is right to note that Dallas defense played a role - and was proud of his involvement there.

“Since I have been here I have been working on my defense, just getting better,'' he said.

Yes, yes. But what else did Luka Doncic do? He led the Mavs with 34 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists as he registered his NBA-best 16th triple-double of the season. It's not that he didn't have some help; Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points and seven rebounds, Dorian Finney-Smith collected 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Maxi Kleber made big two-way contributions late.

But those names that stand alongside Luka need to make room for the legends who now do the same.

The stat line by Doncic marks the first time an NBA player finished a game with at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists since 1976, when it was accomplished by ... Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Who else has done such a thing?

Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, who are now joined by a 21-year-old in Doncic who becomes the youngest player in NBA history to record 30 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists in a game.

And in Mavs franchise history? Doncic becomes just the third Dallas player to score 30 points and secure 20 rebounds in a game, joining Sam Perkins and Dirk Nowitzki (who did it twice) for that honor.

It's worth noting that Luka seems to be less impressed by all of this than the rest of the world justifiably is.

"I think we played one of the worst games ever,'' Doncic said, "and we won it."

Published Aug 4, 2020

MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks since 1990. He has for more than 20 years served as the overseer of DallasBasketball.com, the granddaddy of Mavs news websites.